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Caloroga Shark Media.
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Hello and welcome to Palace Weekly. I'm your host, Mark Francis.
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This is our weekly roundup of all the stories that
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happened during the week on Palace Intrigue, and if you
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want the expanded stories, please go back and take a
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listen to those daily shows. What are we to be
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covering the Royals? Between a spectacular state visit that redefined
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diplomatic excess, explosive new revelations about Queen Elizabeth's final days,
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and a royal family civil war that's moved from cold
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to absolutely arctic, This week had everything pomp, circumstance and
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seriously petty royal drama. Monday marked Prince Harry's forty first birthday,
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and if you thought that might bring some family unity,
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you clearly haven't paying attention to this soap opera. Instead,
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Harry's big day became the catalyst for what can only
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be described as a royal meltdown of epic proportions. Richard
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Eden in The Daily Mail didn't mince words about King
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Charles's decision to meet with Harry the week before. Charles is, however,
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not only a father but also our monarch, and I
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worry that he is making a mistake by appeasing Harry
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after his appalling behavior towards the royal family. The criticism
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stung because it highlighted a fundamental truth. Charles was being
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pulled between his roles as father and king, and many
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believed he was failing at the latter. But the real
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bombshell came from Rob Shooter's revelation that Prince William had
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been completely blindsided by his father's tea and reconciliation session
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with Harry. According to a source close to William, he
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had no idea Harry was on the schedule and certainly
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wasn't asked for input. If William had been consulted, he
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would have tried to block it. That's why Charles went
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ahead quietly. This wasn't just a family disagreement anymore. This
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was the future king being deliberately excluded from major royal
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decisions by his own father. The implications were staggering. If
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William was already furious about being kept in the dark,
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Harry's subsequent interview with the Guardian from Ukraine was like
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pouring gasoline on the fire, and what can only be
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described as spectacularly poor signing Harry doubled down on every
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criticism that had strained his family relationships in the first place.
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You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth, Harry declared,
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seemingly oblivious to the fact that his father had just
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extended an olive branch. He dismissed suggestions that it aired
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dirty laundry, saying his book was a series of corrections
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to stories already out there. Most damaging of all, he
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appeared to allude to his father's mortality, saying the focus
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really has to be on my dad. Tom Sykes in
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The Royalist was incredulous. Incredibly, the interview appears to have
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been given less than twenty four hours after his father
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broke with his other son William an overwhelming public opinion
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in the UK, and welcomed Harry to his London home
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for afternoon tea, breaking a nineteen month estrangement. One asked
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from the King's side in connection with the meeting was
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a period of silence on the issue of the family's
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interpersonal relationships from Harry. Afterwards, the interview revealed a man
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who seemed fundamentally unable to read the room. While Charles
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had been hoping for discretion and gradual healing, Harry was
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back to making demands for accountability and truth, code words
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that had become synonymous with public embarrassment for the royal family.
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The fallout was swift and brutal. By Saturday, Charlotte Griffiths
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in the Daily Mail was reporting insider accounts that painted
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a picture of William at his absolute breaking point. William
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was back at the point where if you mentioned Prince
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Harry in his presence, he would throw you out of
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the room. This wasn't just anger, This was a fundamental
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shift in William's entire approach to his brother. A source
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explained the psychological journey. For some time now, William's anger
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had cooled to the point of indifference over his brother,
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which was healthy for his mental well being. William had
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got to the stage where Harry was a non person.
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He had fallen so far beneath his radar as to
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have disappeared from his mind altogether. It can't be good
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that William has gone back to the point where he
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would throw someone out at the very mention of Harry's name.
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The revelation that William had gone through all the stages
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of grief over his brother was particularly telling. When they
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first fell out. He went to Bowmoral and went off
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his food just before the Oprah chat screened. He wept,
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then he turned to anger, and when that stage was over,
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he simply compartmentalized it all then moved on. But Harry's
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return had reopened all those wounds, forcing William to confront
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the painful reality that his brother truly couldn't be trusted
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into this family chaos. Walked Donald Trump, whose second state
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visit to the UK was designed to be the most
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lavish diplomatic spectacle in living memory. And spectacle it was
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thirteen hundred military personnel, one hundred and twenty horses, a
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forty one gun salute, and enough pomp to make Versailles jealous.
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The day began with Marine one touching down at Windsor,
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where William and Kate were tasked with greeting the Trumps.
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William's reaction to the introductions became the week's most charming moment.
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As he presented his parents to the President, he simply said,
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this is my dad. The casual, almost mundane nature of
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the introduction, as if Charles were just any parent rather
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than the King of England, perfectly captured William's ability to
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humanize even the most formal occasions. Trump, for his part,
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seemed dazzled by the full royal treatment. He rode in
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the Irish state coach with King Charles carriage richly adorned
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with gold, as one observer noted, a detail the President
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is famously fond of. The choreography was flawless carriages, military bands,
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bagpipes from the Scott's Guards, and even enough ceremonial excess
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to satisfy even Trump's notorious appetite for grandeur. But it
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was the evening's state banquet that truly delivered the goods.
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Held in Saint George's Hall, the dinner featured a fifty
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two yard table set with fourteen hundred and fifty two
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pieces of polished cutlery and one hundred and thirty nine candles.
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The menu included Hampshire watercrest pancotta with quail egg salad,
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and a nineteen forty five port in tribute to the
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forty fifth and forty seventh president. The winelist even featured
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cognac from nineteen twelve, the year of Trump's mother's birth.
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Kate resplendent in a gold lace gown, and the lovers
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not Tiara, was seated beside Trump, who used his dinner
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speech to repeatedly call her so beautiful, and so radiant,
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and so healthy. While the comments raised eyebrows among protocol experts,
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they served their purpose, keeping Trump focused and complimentary throughout
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the evening. The contrast couldn't have been starker. While praised
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the King for raising a remarkable son in William, notably
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making no mention of Charles's other son, the actual family
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dynamics were more fractured than they'd been in years. More
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palace in just a moment, The visit provided endless moments
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for royal watchers to dissect. Trump chose not to bow
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to the King and Milania skipped the traditional curtsey, but
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as royal protocol experts quickly clarified, such gestures aren't actually required.
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What was required, however, was the kind of diplomatic theater
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at which the Royals excel. Kate and Milania's joint engagement
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with the Scouts Squirrel's program at Frogmore Gardens was particularly
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well choreographed. Kate embraced an elegant countryside look in a
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forest green swede jacket, while Malania participated in activities like
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building a bug hotel with four to six year olds.
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The symbolism was perfect America and Britain working together with
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the next generation as The most telling moment came in
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a candid photograph by Matt Porteus showing William and Catherine
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holding hands in the darkness outside Windsor Castle after the banquet.
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The couple had quietly defied protocol to share a private
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moment amid all the pageantry, a reminder that even royals
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need authentic connection sometimes. Tuesday brought another complication, when Prince
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Andrew made an unexpected appearance at the Duchess of Kent's funeral.
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Photographers captured what can only be described as Williams barely
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contained fury as his uncle attempted conversation. Shannon Miller in
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The Mirror described the scene. Prince Andrew seemed to be
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giggling while talking, but Prince William rubbed his nose and
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gave the slightest nod, like he was trying to end
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the conversation quickly. A friend of Williams told The Daily
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Beast it was a disgrace that Andrew had been seated
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directly behind William and Kate, and that William was furious
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at being ambushed. The Photographs of a scowling William standing
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alongside Andrew and Charles became symbolic of the heir's frustration
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with his father's approach to family scandals. By Week's and
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the broader implications were impossible to ignore. Tina Brown dropped
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a bombshell in her substack, revealing that the King is,
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I am told, currently less irritated with the prodigal Harry
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than he is with his oldest son and heir. The
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reason Charles apparently sees William as not working hard enough,
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a perception that Sting's given charles own cancer treatment and
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grueling schedule. Brown's analysis was brutal. Somehow, William's parenting dedication
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always seems couched as a tacit criticism of the King's
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own paternal deficiencies. With five confirmed family vacations in seven months,
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William's work schedule paled in comparison to Charles one hundred
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and seventy five official engagements during his cancer treatment year.
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The iony was rich. While Harry was being celebrated for
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his four day charm offensive, William was being criticized for
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prioritizing his family. Tom Sakes captured the paradox perfectly against
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William and Kate's button dup image. Harry's exuberance was a
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reminder of how dull the heir and his wife can see.
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Their rushed diary fillers, heritage sites and textile factories only
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made Harry shine brighter. Former Royal butler Paul Burrell chose
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this week to release explosive new details about Queen Elizabeth's
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final days. His memoir revealed that the Queen had been
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diagnosed with cancer in summer twenty twenty one, shortly after
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Prince Philip's death, and had initially been told she might
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not survive past Christmas that year. Well that's a shame,
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the queen, reportedly responded, because next year is my Platinum Jubilee. Yeah,
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and I'd quite like to have seen that. Can you
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keep me alive for that? The revelation that she had
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given up her beloved Gin and Tonics and endured blood
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transfusions to make it to her jubilee added poignancy to
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Harry's apparent urgency about reconciliation. Perhaps he understood it better
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than anyone realized just how little time was left. Burrell
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also revealed that Harry had sent the Queen a secret
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mobile phone to bypass courtiers and contact her directly after mexit.
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When it arrived, she said, what am I supposed to
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do with it? The phone ended up in a drawer powace,
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alongside another device Andrew had previously sent, a perfect metaphor
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for the family's communication breakdown more palac In just a moment.
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While royal drama exploded across the Atlantic, Meghan was maintaining
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her carefully cultivated California image. Her Instagram posts marking Harry's birthday,
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featuring thirty dollars rose in perfectly styled esthetics, felt almost
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surreal against the backdrop of family warfare. A neighbour's description
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of the sussexss as living rather splendidly but maintaining a
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very controlled image seemed to capture the gulf between their
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new life and the chaos they'd left behind. The week
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also brought rumors that Jessica mulroney, Meghan's former best friend,
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was planning to tell all book that could command up
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to seven figure dollar some depending on what she is
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prepared to say. If true, it would represent yet another
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potential source of embarrassment for a family already struggling with
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internal divisions. By Sunday. As Harry and Megan appeared in
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a Disney documentary gushing about Space Mountain and Mickey Mouse ears,
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the contrast with the week's earlier events was almost jarring.
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He was a couple who traded state banquets and military
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honors for theme park rides and product placement, and seemed
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genuinely happier for it. But back in Britain, the Royal
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family was grappling with fractures that seemed irreparable. Charles's attempt
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to reconcile with Harry had backfired spectacularly, alienating William and
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exposing the fundamental incompatibility between Harry's need for public vindication
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and the monarchy's requirement for private discretion. Former Royal butler
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Paul Burell summed up the tragedy. Best. Diana's wish was
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for Harry to support William throughout his journey to become monarch.
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But williams on his own now, and he's resigned to that.
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To him, his brother can't be trusted. The week that
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began with Harry's birthday ended with the Royal family more
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divided than ever, an aging king caught between feuding sons,
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an air apparent, isolated and angry, and a spare who
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seemed incapable of understanding that some bridges, once burned, can
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never be rebuilt. As one insider put it, William originally
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went through all the stages of grief over his brother.
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He never expected to be regularly in the same postcode
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as his brother again, like he was last week. The
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fact that they were, and that it went so badly
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might have sealed Harry's fate forever. The monarchy had survived
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the week's spectacular state visit, but the cost to the
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family at its heart might prove irreparable. And there have it.
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Judge to email us addresses the Palace intrigu at gmail
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If you're a fan of Palace Intrigue, you've seen how
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the Norwegians are a handful as well, and we're diving
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into that family. Check it out wherever you get your
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podcasts like this one, and all the links are in
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the show notes. I'm Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
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This is Palace Weekly and Good Times